


Take Me Into Your Loving Arms

by TheBrookeworm



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, F/M, Fluff, I'm Sorry, Love, Vows, Wedding Fluff, his baby sister is there, made my friend cry, percabeth, percbeth are too cute, suck at summaries, wedding au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 02:35:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10584624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBrookeworm/pseuds/TheBrookeworm
Summary: Percabeth wedding AU with a twist





	

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from a lyric in thinking out loud by Ed Sheeran.

I adjust my tie nervously and take one last glance in the mirror. I can't believe I'm finally going to be marrying the love of my life.

 

No more wishing for this day, no more waiting for this day to come. It’s here. Today.

 

Annabeth and I had a relatively short engagement; we’d been talking about getting married for so long that our wedding didn't take long to plan. I proposed to Annabeth back in April and we'd wanted to wait until we were officially done with school, but I had gotten impatient and figured, what difference would a month make? She said yes, despite my worries. Now here I am, just a few months later about to marry my best friend, my other half, my wise girl.

"Hey, you about ready?" My head snaps up to see Grover, my best man, grinning at me. He and Juniper had gotten married ages ago, and he'd been saying for years that it was only a matter of time until Annabeth and I got hitched. "Yeah, dude. Just let me fix my hair a little more, I don’t think it looks good."

"You look great, man. No need to be nervous. You and Annabeth are so in love it makes me sick."

 

"I know, I know. I- I'm not nervous about marrying Annabeth, I'm in love with everything about her. I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's just that my hair won't lie flat, something is wrong with my time, and I'm pretty sure I shouldn't have eaten breakfast. Also, it’s ridiculously hot in here, is that just me? And where is everyone? Shouldn't they be here? I swear to the gods if they’re late-"

 

"Dude, just breathe. It's perfectly normal to be nervous; it doesn't mean you don't love her. Your hair looks fine; you need to stop messing with it. No, it isn’t hot in here, it’s a beautiful day. And yeah, you probably shouldn’t have eaten so much blue breakfast. It’s good you ate, but man, you shoveled that in.”

 

“You’re probably right but I couldn’t resist.” I reply with a frustrated grunt after another moment of fiddling with my tie.

 

“I don't know how you still haven't learned to properly tie a tie. Get your butt over here, I can fix it. It's part of my best man duties." Grover laughs when I let out a sigh of relief and shuffle over to him. “Remember when I got married? You practically had to drag me out of the bathroom because I was convinced that I was going to puke."

 

I laugh at that, “You felt like puking yet you ate the shower curtain, bath mats and all the towels.” Grover chuckles and I take deep breath. Grover’s right. It’s normal to feel like I want to puke my guts out before my wedding vows.  
Totally normal, it’s all good.

 

Grover always manages to calm me down; I don't know how he does it. Even though we had to live on opposite ends of the country we made sure to keep in touch. Somehow we managed to get even closer, he'll always be one of my closest friends. We've been through so much together, and no one really gets that besides him and Annabeth. Heck, we still can't stop ourselves from making a dam joke every once in a while, and completely loosing it when we do.

“And as for everyone else," Grover says as he gives my tie one final tug," they're already out on the beach."

 

Before I knew it I was being hustled down to the beach to greet the guests before taking my place at the altar.

 

Annabeth and I ended up deciding to get married at Montauk. It's a place close to my heart, but it was actually Annabeth who wanted to hold it here.

 

I was willing to get married anywhere, even California if she wanted to be near her parents, but Annabeth wanted it to be somewhere that meant something special to both of us. And as much as we love California, Camp Half Blood and the New York area will always be our home.

 

Montauk was always a place of refuge and momentary pleasure for my mom and I. Annabeth and I had even made our own memories here over the years; so really it just made sense to get married in a place where we both have amazing memories.

 

As I walked out of one of the cabins to make my way to the altar, I saw my mom standing by the front row of chairs. She was talking to my beautiful baby sister and Paul, but as soon as she saw me her eyes

stated to pool with tears. My mom has been helping us plan this for months; taking time out of her already busy schedule and making sure we ordered the right cake and going with Annabeth to pick out her dress, down to what napkins we were going to use for the reception. I couldn't wish for a more loving, caring and understanding mom.

 

I pull her into a hug and try to blink back the tears collecting in my eyes. "Hi, mom."

 

"I'm so proud of you," my mom gets out between sniffs." I can't believe my baby is getting married."

 

I feel my heart swell when I take a look at her. Her unruly hair is pinned up and you can really see her cheerful face and easy smile without any hint of that eveer lingering stress or worry.

 

I feel someone thud and attach to my leg and glance down to see my little sister hugging me. I let out a chuckle as I pull away from my mom and grab her, throwing her up in the air. She assaults me with an attack of giggles and clings to my neck. "Hey, sweet pea. Did you get bigger from when I last saw you?" I tease.

 

"No!" She squeals. "You saw me yesterday!"

 

“Are you ready to do your big job today? It’s very important, we can’t do this without you.” I tell her seriously.

 

"Yes! So excited! My flowers are right here, the petals smell nice. I've been practicing! I can't wait to see Annabeth, I bet she looks so pretty. You look nice, but I bet she looks better," my sister babbles as she hops out of my arms and tugs me over to her basket. I let her show me all of her petals as I take in my surroundings. The beach looks even better than I imagined, the blue-green and gray decorations look great against the pale sand and black chairs.

 

The ocean is calm and glittering today - I'll have to remember to thank dad for that – the sun is hanging low in the horizon making everything go a pretty shade of orange and rosy red. I can see everyone behind me chatting as they lounge in chairs while they wait for more guests to arrive. Grover is trying to convince Connor and Travis Stoll, the ushers, to stop pick pocketing the guests at the entrance. 

 

"I'm sorry, princess," I interrupt my sisters rambling, “but I have to make sure everyone is ready. I'm sure you'll do great," I pull away from her after giving her one last peck on the cheek and giving Paul and my mom one last hug before I head over to check on my groomsmen.

I ended up asking Jason, Leo, Frank, Nico, and, of course, Grover to be my groomsmen. To me, it wasn't that hard of a situation. All of these guys mean so much to me, and we've been through a lot together. Annabeth asked Piper to be her maid of honor and Hazel, Rachel, Thalia, and Clarisse, (surprisingly) to be her bridesmaids.

 

After chatting shortly and giving out even more hugs, I get herded to the front as more guests start to file in.

 

The wedding march starts up and I glance around confused. I could have sworn I only just got up here. But all of the guests are sitting down, and Hazel and Frank are making their way down the aisle.

 

I must have blanked out for a bit.

 

A minute or so later, I see her.

 

Annabeth.

 

Annabeth floats down the aisle with her dad and she looks absolutely stunning. She has the biggest most radiant smile on her face and her blonde ringlets are glowing with the setting sun behind her. Her stormy eyes are lit with so much excitement and nerves I want to envelope her and tell her that it’s OK, I’m nervous too and we can be nervous together. Everything will all be perfectly perfect and we don’t need to worry.

 

I can't help the tears I feel well up in my eyes. She makes her way towards me, slowly but confidently. I can see a whole galaxy lit up inside her eyes saying a thousand lovely things and I can hear them all clearly, I love you.

I hope my eyes say the same thing but I probably just look crazy.

 

She nudges me as the officiant starts and I restrain a delirious chuckle. "Don't get emotional yet, seaweed brain. We've hardly even started," she whispered under her breathe, grinning.

 

"Shut up, wise girl. I can't help it." After that I try to focus on the ceremony but my eyes can't stay away from her. I can't believe I'll never see....wait.....What did I mean by that-

 

"Percy? Percy!"

 

My head snaps up and I look from the officiant to Annabeth. "What? Did I miss something?"

 

A soft patter of chuckles carry through the crowd as we carry on with the service. After Annabeth and I say a few 'I do's', it's time for the vows. I lace my hands with Annabeth's and clear my throats nervously as the officiant nodded at me.

 

"I wasn't sure about this whole writing your own vows thing but here it goes," I say as Annabeth gives my hands a squeeze. I take a quick glance around the room, I'm surrounded by people who love and support me, and I couldn't be happier.

 

I start my vows with a burst of confidence," I, Percy Jackson, take you, Annabeth Chase to be my wife. I promise to love and support you in everything you do, because I know you're always right," a chuckle went out through the crowd as I finished my first line."I promise to help you fight all of the monsters in your life, physical and mental. I promise to be your best friend, your partner, and stick by your side, even when you're sick of me. But most of all, I promise to never stop loving you. Because, I know, without you, I'd be nothing. You're my best friend, one true love, and the brains to my brawn," I say with a chuckle as I struggle to keep my voice going steady,"You're there when I'm struggling and don't know what to do, you stay calm when I'm falling apart, and you never stop looking for me when I'm lost. I may not be perfect, but I promise, with all of my heart, that I'll do my best to do the same for you. I love you, and I promise to never stop.”

 

Annabeth breaks one of her hands away from mine to bring it up to my face to wipe away a tear slowly rolling down my cheek. I hadn't even realized it had escaped. She lets out a small laugh that sounds more like a sob than a laugh. "Darn you, Percy," Annabeth says as she dabs at her eyes with the tissue Piper handed her. "How am I supposed to follow that?" She clears her throats and does her best to sound steady as she starts.

 

"I, Annabeth Chase, take you, Percy Jackson, to be my husband. I promise to be your helping hand, your best friend, your partner in crime, and your equal. I promise to stand by you, and to never forget our past and always look ahead for our future. I promise to listen to you and stay by your side as we start this quest together. Because I love you, forever and always.

 

Before we knew it, just as quickly as it started, the ceremony was over. We were kissing each other as cheers erupted around us and a salty breeze swept past.

 

We shuffled to the tents where the reception was being held. After greeting all our guests, everyone started settling down and finding seats. Everyone from Camp Half-Blood came, and a surprising amount of people from Camp Jupiter came. I guess I made more of an impact than I thought as praetor (also Reyna and Frank may have given them all leave and heavily suggested they come, but they won't confirm my suspicions.). A few gods showed up, and quite a few didn't (and to be honest I'm quite happy a few of them didn't come. Sorry, not sorry.). It's a good thing Annabeth and I don't have a lot of family members because it would be very difficult to explain all of this away, even with the Mists help.

 

"Percy, let's find our seats. Food will be served soon," Annabeth said with a smile. She grabbed my hand, and we made our way to the wedding party table. Everyone else was already sitting and the guests were already getting settled as well.

 

Of course, Annabeth and I are the last ones to make our way to our table. Suddenly Annabeth shot me a grin as she hiked up her dress and said,"Race me!" Suddenly she was stumbling around tables and trying to avoid stepping on anyone’s feet. With a laugh I took off after her and did my best to make my way around her. With a gasp, I launched myself around her with my arm out trying to tap the table before her. However I misjudged the distance and ended up tripping over her train. I tried to reach out to grab something to steady myself on my way down, but I ended up grabbing onto her arm and dragging her down with me. I couldn't see anything but her dress and limbs and struggled to get up. I could hear Leo loosing it in the background, and I was greeted with the lovely view of Annabeth glaring at me as we both finally managed to sit up. I met her eyes, and we burst out into laughter. I could hardly see anything from laughing and just let Grover guide me to my chair.

"Now that that's over," Grover said into a microphone as everyone’s voices died down." It's time for me to give my best man speech.”I've known Percy and Annabeth more than ten years now, I could go on and on about how we meant, or about the quests we've been on. Or I could go the funny route and talk about the countless times I've caught Percy singing "Under the Sea" or watching The Little Mermaid. I swear I once heard him talking to his dad about whether or not she's real." he paused to let the laughter pass."But instead I'm just going to keep it short and sweet. Percy and Annabeth were always meant to be. I knew it from the first time they met, and Annabeth told him he drools in his sleep. It may have taken them a while to figure it out, but I always knew. There was always something special about what they had. They fought, complained, got jealous, and argued, and bickered some more," he said with a chuckle. ",but they've always loved each other and they both know that to thrive and reach their goals that they make the best team to do exactly that to do just. So this toast is for Annabeth and Percy," he said raising his glass,"may their love stay strong and forever leave me as the third wheel."

 

I burst out into laughter before standing up and pulling Grover into a hug while everyone drank. "Thanks man. Also I'm not ashamed of my undying love for Ariel. Long live the Little Mermaid!" I shouted and everyone burst into laughter.

 

"Will you lot settle down," Piper said as she held in a giggle." It's my turn!” She cleared her throat and began her speech, “When I met Annabeth I had never seen someone some disappointed to see me in my life. She'd been on the hunt for Percy and had hoped to find him there. Instead she found a boy with no memory, a girl who was confused as to why her boyfriend was acting weird, and Leo. Once everything was worked out she had to deal with a heartbroken girl on top of all of the pain and disappointment she must have been feeling.” I look over at Annabeth to see her smile a mile wide and I feel my heart warm knowing she’s undoubtedly feeling just pure happiness. “While we were off on our quest she had to stay at Camp Half-Blood and continue her frustrating search for Percy. When we got back we had to wait even longer for the boat to be finished. So to help pass the time she would tell me stories about Percy, and all of the adventures they went on. She talked about what he looked like, his obsession with blue, how they'd almost died multiple times, and how stupid he could be. The one thing she didn't need to tell me was how much she loved him. I could see it plain as day by the way she talked about him and how tired she was. At first I didn't see how he could be deserving of all of this love; but then I met him, and it just made sense. To Annabeth and Percy," she said with a big smile and watery eyes.

 

Piper sat down and I could see Annabeth hugging her and whispering something to her. I took the microphone from Piper and stood up, "Thanks so much Grover and Piper for the amazing speeches. I can't either of you enough for being here for us. We'd also like to thank the rest of our guests and everyone who attended. It means a lot to us that you all spent this important day with us.” The crowd starts to clap and cheer, “Now onto the food! I tried to convince Annabeth that it was a good idea to have all blue food, but it did not work. Apparently having blue cake, blue decorations, and blue ties was as much blue as she could take. So instead you can tell your server what food you'd like and they’ll deliver it to you shortly. Oh, and it will be its normal color. Thank you."

The dinner passed in a blur of laughter and talking. Once everyone finished their food, Leo made his way to the front to start his DJ job. "Good afternoon ladies and gentleman," he says flashing a confident grin,"I will be leading you on a musical journey today. But before we get to that it's time for the bride and groom's first dance. So let's give it up for Percy and Annabeth!" He yells as everyone lets out a cheer.

I reach for Annabeth's hand and we head over to the dance floor. I can't help the nerves that bubble up in my stomach. I've never been the best dancer, and I'm even worse when I'm being watched by people. 

"The song has been chosen by the bride and groom, and without further ado here's "Lucky" by Jason Mraz."

Suddenly "This Girl is on Fire" is blasting through through the speakers. I can't contain the laughter that comes bursting out of me. Through my laughter I can see Jason wresting with Leo for the controls and trying to turn it off. Finally he succeeds and the music abruptly cuts off in the middle of the chorus. Leo waits a few moments for the laughter to die down, then says," Sorry, couldn't resist. Here's the song." 

 

"Do you hear me, I'm talking to you. Across the water across the deep blue ocean." 

 

I reach for Annabeth's hand and waist as we start slow dancing to the music. I'm still smiling, but the nerves that momentarily disappeared are back in full force. "Hey, don't be nervous. It's just me," Annabeth says quietly smiling up at me. 

"I know, it's just I never thought I'd see you again. Let alone dance with you on our wedding day."

She tilts her head and looks up at me, "Wait, what do you mean? You've been making weird comments like that all day. Are you okay, Percy?"

"I- I" A stuttered as a horrible feeling washed over me just then," I don't know..... I've just missed you so much."

"What's the matter Percy? Do you need to sit down?" She said as she stopped dancing, her dazzling smile that lit up her face just a minute ago vanished.

 

"I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend, Lucky to have been where I have been"

 

Suddenly all the memories came rushing back, hitting me hard; getting the call at the bachelor party, the horrible feeling when Nico dropped the phone and ran to me - the denial, the tears and the void inside me screaming for it to not be true. Being driven up to Montauk in hysterics and calling my mom sobbing. The world had started losing its color, sounds had srated to echo uselessly in my ears when I pulled up and saw Annabeth being loaded into the ambulance, lifeless.

I remember her body soaked to the bone, her beautiful golden curls limp and flat, and worst of all her stormy grey eyes staring into the sky no longer shining with her lovely intelligence.

We were told she’s drowned. Drowned. She'd gone to walk by the sea, slipped, hit her head, and drowned.

My chest was tight and my heart felt like it was being wrapped in wire. Gasping, I struggle over to a chair. Everything is coming back so fast - too fast. It's like it's happing all over again. The pain, the agony.

She’d died a week before our wedding. A week. Worst of all, she had drowned. The one thing I could always prevent, I wasn’t there to help. I didn't even know until hours later. I can feel the tears rolling down my face as I let out a strangled sob.

"Percy, Percy! Tell me what's wrong. I can help you," I can hear Annabeth beg. But no, it's not her. The Annabeth I loved, no…love, is dead. I couldn't do anything, I can't do anything.

"You can't help," I croak." You aren’t real. This is all just a dream."

As if those were the magic words, the colors of our party start to blur and swirl faster and faster until my dream flushes from my mind and with a jolt I sit up with a gasp, tears still rolling down my face. I'm hit with the content of my dream all over again in an awful wave of terrible sadness. This is the third time this week I've dreamed about our wedding - our dream wedding, the wedding that will never occur because Annabeth….is dead. I sob and feel myself growing hysterical. She’s gone; I’ll never see her pretty eyes or sparkling smile ever again. I won’t ever get to grow old with her and experience life from the safety of monsters. I won’t get to have a family with her or ever hear her laugh at one of my stupid jokes or get to listen to her rambling about architecture and books. I’ll won’t ever get to see her eyes light up when she gets an idea, and worst of all I won’t ever have her electric and bigger than life presence with me.

She’s gone.

As if in another world I see my door open and my mom rushing in. "Shhhh, honey, you're all right, you're going to be okay." my mom consoles, enveloping me in a hug.

"Why?" I sob into her shoulder. "Why couldn't it have been me?"

"Don't say that. You don't mean it. You're just hurting and that's okay."

"I do mean it!" I struggle to get the words out between sobs. "I just want to be with her again. Hear her laugh and talk to me. I still love her. I can't do it anymore. It's been a year, I should be better. But I'm not. I just miss her so much."

"Percy, honey, you loved her. It's going to hurt for a long time. But I promise it'll get better. It might not for a long time, and it may never go completely away. But it will get better. You'll find your way, and you'll make it through this, I promise."

Years of fighting monsters and and struggling through Tartarus haven’t prepared me for a sadness this great.

So all I can do is I cry on my mom's shoulder until I have nothing left to give. And once I've done that, I carry my tired mom back to bed so she can get a few hours of sleep in. I head back to my room and settle in with my video games to wait out the sun; because my mom is right, I may be heartbroken, maybe even completely broken. But I have to push through and struggle through life.

Annabeth, my soulmate, may have left me, but I'm not on my own. I have my friends, my family, and my memories. And maybe, just maybe I can learn to live with that.  


**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I'm sorry. I started out with the ending all plotted out, and I'm sadistic that way. I hope you liked it! This is the first fan fiction I've ever written and I was really nervous about posting it. 
> 
> Also I'd like to thank my beta reader, Izel! Without her editing and encouragement I probably would have never written this. 
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments! I really appreciate it. Feel free to leave requests too! I'd love to write some more.


End file.
